China Oilfield Services Plans $1.3 Billion in 2014 Expenditures

COSLProspector, image: CIMC Raffles

China Oilfield Services Ltd. announced today plans to invest upwards of USD $1.3 billion into the building of 26 new vessels for their offshore fleet.

This capital expenditure includes funds to support the construction and purchase of the 5,000 feet semi-submersible drilling rig COSLProspector, which is currently under construction at CIMC Raffles as well as the following:

• One 400-foot jack-up rig – HYSY943 (China Merchants Heavy)
• One 400-foot large pile shoe jack-up drilling rig – HYSY944 (China Merchants Heavy)
• Two 300-foot jack-up rigs
• One 6th Generation, DP3, 5,000-foot semi-submersible drilling rig – HYSY982 (Dalian)
• 15 oilfield utility vessels
• One integrated surveying vessel
• One 12-streamer seismic vessel
• Two deep water integrated surveying vessels
• Two 6,000 horsepower deep water platform supply vessels.

The COSLProspector is targeted for deployment to the North Sea where it will join three other COSL rigs under contract by Statoil in the region, the COSLPioneer, COSLInnovator and the COSLPromoter.

Besides a growing presence offshore Norway, COSL has long term contracts for PEMEX offshore Mexico.  As of January, they operate and manage three jack-up drilling rigs including the COSLConfidence, HYSY936, and the recently delivered COSLHunter which will be starting its 5-year contract this quarter.  COSL also operates 4 module rigs in the region.

COSL notes that Mexico recently passed an energy reform bill, which has “created favorable conditions for the Group’s further expansion in Gulf of Mexico” and they add that an additional 3000HP module rig will be operated there once constructed.

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